Just like any eighteen year old girl, there are things about myself that I’m not 100% happy with. A few years ago I would have done anything in my power to draw attention away from these areas, but I think as you get older you become more comfortable in your own skin and realise that if other people aren’t happy about or judge these aspects of yourself that you are already self conscious about then that is their own problem. I strongly believe that when you find the right friends group and that special person that you are supposed to be with you won’t need to hide these things about yourself away. Nobody’s perfect!
There have been many times in my life where I have had that feeling of needing to burst into tears at the worst times because you can feel that lump in your throat due to hurtful comments from somebody else. An example of this being when I was standing in a group of boys a few years back and one of them decided to point out the hair on my arms. I can still remember the feeling of humiliation and the desire for the ground to swallow me up. I have always been self conscious about my arms, but now it doesn’t bother me as much because I have realised it isn’t exactly a major problem in the world! The only person who really cared about them was me, and what girl doesn’t have hair on her body? My surname is Fox, what else did I expect!
My tummy is also an area that I wasted years of my life worrying about, of course I would still like to improve it if I put the work in, but you are the only person who really sees these “flaws” in yourself. People aren’t going to see my tummy and the ones who do are the ones who deserve to be in that situation because they won’t care whether you have a so called “perfect” body or not!
It is not only my looks that I am talking about, my lisp is also a part of myself that I am aware of because of how many people point it out, but I have learned to laugh at myself as I have gotten older! I can remember having a conversation with a random lady when I was little who kept asking me to say ‘sizzling sausages’. I am now aware that she was in fact not a random lady but a speech therapist, and I still cannot say sizzling sausages!
You can buy all the beauty products or wax strips in the world and of course they will help, I am not saying they won’t, they make you feel attractive and happy in yourself…but the only true way to build that confidence long term is finding the ability to laugh things off and not take things to heart. If people don’t like these parts of you, why are they a part of your life to begin with? You can conceal minor outer flaws, but you can’t conceal a bad personality!
